xsparkage – xSparkagehttp://www.xsparkage.com
Confessions of a Makeup JunkieSat, 29 Oct 2016 04:39:55 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7Flashy Candy Cane Eyeshttp://www.xsparkage.com/flashy-candy-cane-eyes/
http://www.xsparkage.com/flashy-candy-cane-eyes/#commentsSat, 18 Dec 2010 20:13:37 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/flashy-candy-cane-eyesThis is the result of just playing around, attempting to make a christmassy look that had a bit of Leesha flair to it :) A long time ago I remember seeing someone who did a candy cane look that was just diagonal stripes across their lid and lower lid, and I took that memory and put my own twist on it: adding glitter, and turning it into a smokey look, because I felt like the stripes on their own weren’t really finished.

And if you really wanted to be spirited and festive, check out my friend Brooke’s Candy Cane nail tutorial. SUPER cute!!!

]]>http://www.xsparkage.com/flashy-candy-cane-eyes/feed/21Eve Pearl Au Natural Eyeshadow Palettehttp://www.xsparkage.com/eve-pearl-au-natural-eyeshadow-palette/
http://www.xsparkage.com/eve-pearl-au-natural-eyeshadow-palette/#commentsFri, 17 Dec 2010 19:24:56 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/eve-pearl-au-natural-eyeshadow-paletteBack in June, I got to try quite a few palettes from Eve Pearl after participating in the guru summit, and I was pretty impressed! One palette I didn’t get to try was the Au Natural Palette, which is a really nice palette for all skintones. I saw my friend Suzy had it when I went on vacation with her in NYC a few weeks back, and decided to grab it when Eve Pearl had their 50% off Black Friday sale.

I love the Eve Pearl palettes because they’re nice and small, and have a mirror, so they are great for taking with you on the go. I especially like this palette because it has a universal mix of frosts and mattes. This is a great palette for just about anyone, as these colors work for all skin tones!

This palette is great for: Those who don’t have much makeup, or need an easily accessible, easy to take with you palette for work or school that has great everyday colors.

Skip this palette if: You have loads of neutral shadows. If you’re looking for something portable, you can always just put a few in a Z-palette and throw it in your bag!

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http://www.xsparkage.com/eve-pearl-au-natural-eyeshadow-palette/feed/11Spirited at the Spurs Gamehttp://www.xsparkage.com/spirited-at-the-spurs-game/
http://www.xsparkage.com/spirited-at-the-spurs-game/#commentsThu, 16 Dec 2010 20:26:35 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/spirited-at-the-spurs-gameLast night I got to go to a Spurs game with Tyler (my bf) and our friend Rick. Spurs had a thing on their Facebook where they gave away free tickets when they hit a certain number of fans, so Tyler scored some :) Granted, I’m not really what one would call a huge Spurs fan (I have a grudge because I’m from Phoenix, and I feel like Spurs and the Suns are rivals, in my house anyways) but theyre a really good team, and going to basketball games is always fun, and this was no exception! The game was a tie up until the last second, and the Spurs won with a buzzer beater. Intense!

I decided to do makeup that was the Spurs colors, mainly because they are silver and black and that can be worn anywhere. Pictures aren’t the best because I was being rushed, sorry!

http://www.xsparkage.com/spirited-at-the-spurs-game/feed/28Purple & Green Inglot Lookhttp://www.xsparkage.com/purple-green-inglot-look/
http://www.xsparkage.com/purple-green-inglot-look/#commentsWed, 15 Dec 2010 01:25:28 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/purple-green-inglot-lookI hope you guys are ready, I have a feeling a lot of upcoming looks will be using Inglot :) If you didn’t see the swatches of all my Inglot colors, click here!!

Unique, extraordinary, and extravagant these tantalising talons are like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Designed and handmade exclusively for Illamasqua by one of the hottest names in nails, Mike Pocock, these collector’s items are guaranteed to tease the senses of anyone whose eye they catch. Presented in a beautiful gift box they come complete with nail tabs and glue. False nails will never be the same again!

Two Nail Quills per set, designed to be worn on either thumb. Featuring a matte black finish and silver tip, match your Nail Quill with our new matte black Nail Varnish in Scorn.

The bottom lifts up and has stick on pieces and nail glue :)

Nail polish is Illamasqua’s Scorn, LOVE it!!

These are definitely unique, and are pretty cool! I wasn’t sure how I felt about them at first, but once I put them on with the matte black polish it really grew on me. Obviously, I wouldn’t wear this on a daily basis, as I’d be afraid I’d scratch my eyes out or something :) These would be really cool for a photo shoot or a special event. One thing I noticed was that the nail quills were a bit big for my thumbnails, so if you have tiny fingers these probably won’t work out well for you. They are reusable, so if you take care of them when applying and removing (especially if you use the nail sticker pieces that come with) these should last you awhile.

The polish that’s recommended to go with the quills, Scorn, is amazing, like all the Illamasqua polishes I’ve used. It’s a matte Black, opaque in one coat (shown here with two coats, just to make sure it photographed even), and has the slightest dull shine. I love mattes that aren’t flat, like a sharpie, but are like this. sooo gorgeous!!

]]>http://www.xsparkage.com/illamasqua-nail-quills/feed/18Non-Airbrush Foundation Routinehttp://www.xsparkage.com/non-airbrush-foundation-routine/
http://www.xsparkage.com/non-airbrush-foundation-routine/#commentsFri, 10 Dec 2010 19:55:53 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/non-airbrush-foundation-routineI’ve been asked many times to do a video for you guys talking about my go-to foundation products that aren’t airbrush. For a long time, the problem was that I really didn’t use anything but airbrush (and normally, if I’m at home, I still don’t!) By far my favorite way to apply foundation is using my airbrush, NOTHING comes close to coverage and ease of use :) But, because sometimes it can be impractical to bring an airbrush machine with me, I have a set of products I like to use if airbrushing isn’t an option.

Products mentioned:

Cover Fx Skin Primer

Benefit Stay Don’t Stray

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat (I filmed this before I knew about the Milani HD Concealer, that works too!

Makeup Forever Mat Velvet (02)

Cover Fx Concealer (M10)

MAC Translucent Powder (using a fan brush!)

Matte Bronzer to contour

MAC Lingering Brow Pencil (and a spoolie!)

]]>http://www.xsparkage.com/non-airbrush-foundation-routine/feed/26Inglot Shadows Pictures & Swatcheshttp://www.xsparkage.com/inglot-shadows-pictures-swatches/
http://www.xsparkage.com/inglot-shadows-pictures-swatches/#commentsThu, 09 Dec 2010 23:19:53 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/inglot-shadows-pictures-swatchesHere are swatches of my Inglot shadows :) Keep in mind when looking at some of these that because a lot of the colors I have are a matte/satin with a glitter overlay, they tend to not want to photograph the way that the eye sees them, because the glitter really shines through when it can hit the light at different angles, and you really cant capture that in a photograph well. :)

These two pictures do a pretty good job of showing just how much glitter is in the glitter colors!

yumm :)

(371 is a bit light, it looks more like electric eel from MAC, but better!)

(366 is more red, less orange.)

Another cool thing about Inglot palettes is they have magnets on the corners of the top and bottom, so you can stack them like they are here. You can even take the lids off the ones in the stack, because both the palette and the lids have magnets :) Convenient for your kit!

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http://www.xsparkage.com/inglot-shadows-pictures-swatches/feed/62Awesome Way to Remove Glitter Nail Polishhttp://www.xsparkage.com/awesome-way-to-remove-glitter-nail-polish/
http://www.xsparkage.com/awesome-way-to-remove-glitter-nail-polish/#commentsThu, 09 Dec 2010 06:36:19 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/awesome-way-to-remove-glitter-nail-polishMy friend Brooke recently put up a video showing how she removes glitter nail polish hassle-free. Glitter polish tends to be frowned upon by a lot of people because it’s really a pain to remove. To be perfectly honest when I was watching this video I was a bit skeptical, as I’ve dealt with glitter polish and it seemed too easy, I was really impressed that there was NO residue at the end!

The only problem I’d have doing this to myself is that I tend to get hangnails when I’m lazy about using cuticle oil (aka a lot) especially on my thumbs, and if i put pure acetone around my finger like that I’d end up crying in pain! But if you’re unlike me, this would work amazingly!

I’ve also been told that using felt works really well, but I’d imagine you’d still have to scrub a bit. the way Brooke explains is probably the easiest way to go about it!

]]>http://www.xsparkage.com/awesome-way-to-remove-glitter-nail-polish/feed/146Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Vegan Brusheshttp://www.xsparkage.com/obsessive-compulsive-cosmetics-vegan-brushes/
http://www.xsparkage.com/obsessive-compulsive-cosmetics-vegan-brushes/#commentsTue, 07 Dec 2010 18:39:10 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/obsessive-compulsive-cosmetics-vegan-brushesRecently OCC came out with some brushes to add to their line of products. I have been so impatient to play with them, as I had heard SOO many things about them, but they were sent to my parents house in AZ, and then my mother, who is the queen of mailing things 2 weeks after they arrive, mails the brushes to me in TX 2 days before I leave on a 3 week vacation. Needless to say, they arrived here the day after I left. Typical :P

So finally, I am back home and got to see them in person!

From the website:
OCC Brushes combine form and function in a sleek and cruelty-free fashion. Unprecedentedly soft synthetic bristles made from blends of nylon and taklon apply powder, liquid and creme products effortlessly. OCC signature white handles emblazoned with our logo fit ergonomically into your hands and are specially weighted with nickel-plated ferrules to balance with ease. A must for any artist’s kit or for a pro-quality application of your favorite cosmetics.

Brush #001: Large Powder Brush $28
A luxuriously soft all purpose powder brush for use on the face and body.

Brush #002: Foundation Brush $24A firm but flexible foundation brush. A great alternative to an airbrush.

These brushes are incredibly soft, especially for being synthetic. Chances are that if I hadn’t mentioned it and you just picked one up to play with it, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between these and real hair brushes.

These were sent for review consideration by OCC.

]]>http://www.xsparkage.com/obsessive-compulsive-cosmetics-vegan-brushes/feed/9Product Battle: YSL Touche Eclat vs Milani HD Advanced Concealerhttp://www.xsparkage.com/product-battle-ysl-touche-eclat-vs-milani-hd-advanced-concealer/
http://www.xsparkage.com/product-battle-ysl-touche-eclat-vs-milani-hd-advanced-concealer/#commentsTue, 07 Dec 2010 04:12:56 +0000http://www.xsparkage.com/product-battle-ysl-touche-eclat-vs-milani-hd-advanced-concealerThe first time I really tried Touche Eclat was when it came in a Sephora order I placed online as a sample. They included a sample of the lightest shade, and I was really impressed with the results! I decided to buy the 2nd lightest shade because it had more of a yellow undertone instead of a pink one. I really like using it as a quick fix when I have NO time to get ready and just want to fix a few discolorations.

A few weeks later, I found out that Milani sold a similar type of concealer. Here’s a comparison!

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat:

A luminizing pen that brings light and radiance to the skin, immediately erases any signs of fatigue, and brightens the complexion.

Comes in 8 shades.

Takes only one click for product to come out

Price point: $40

Milani HD Advanced Concealer:

HD Advance Concealer click pen covers imperfections, dark circles, with a weightless, good-for-your-skin liquid formula that leaves a natural finish as it brightens with a soft focus for flawless skin.

Price Point: $7

Comes in 4 shades

Takes a few clicks for product to come out

brush is thinner than YSL

Overall these two products are pretty similar. Other than the obvious lack of shade range from Milani, the products really do the same thing. I’d say the YSL sets nicer (Milani’s feels like it needs a little powder or something) but the coverage from both seems to be fairly consistent.

Verdict: Skip the YSL unless you are rolling in money, or if Milani doesn’t have a color that suits you. The deal-breaker here is definitely the price, you can get a fairly similar result for $33 cheaper. Awesome!! The only downside? I feel like Milani products are a little hard to find. They are available at most drugstores (walgreens, CVS) but they NEVER seem to have what I want (I spent a load of time looking for their 3D nail polishes last year, ended up finding them in a mall in New Hampshire!) This product wasn’t sold at my local CVS (which does sell milani), so you might have to put on a little hunt to find it, but as long as you dont spend $33 in gas, you’re still wining in the long run!

This review has been made possible by my lovely friend Joy (falloutjoy), who actually found the Milani concealer for me in Connecticut. Thanks Joy!! :D